2015 – Page 6 – Villages Hiking Club

Mid Peninsula Open Space Hike

Two Mid Peninsula Open Space docents led a guided tour of the Purisima Creek Redwoods. This 5-mile ramble was along the creek and Soda Gulch and the group identified native and non-native species and noted second growth characteristics of the redwoods.

Windy Hill Open Space Hike

On Saturday, May 9th John Trudeau led the long hikers in the Windy Hill Open Space District on the Spring Ridge and Hamms Gulch loop for a hike of about 7.5 miles, with an elevation gain of about 1400ft. that features open grassland ridges and forests of redwood, fir, and oak. The ramblers started from the same trail head and left the long hikers at the Meadow trail cutoff, They then took the Betsy Crowder trail around Sausal pond, for a total distance of 5.25 miles, with elevation gain about 1200 ft.

Stevens Creek County Park / Fremont Older Open Space Hike

On Saturday, April 25th Nancy Rumple led the long hikers 7 miles on moderately hilly trails with a 1000 ft. elevation gain from Stevens Creek County Park into and around Fremont Older We saw wild flowers and views of the surrounding areas.

Coyote Lake Hike

Wate Bakker led a rambler hike in the Coyote Lake/Harvey Bear County Parks on Wednesday April 22nd. There were magnificent flower displays along this trail. The hike was about 4 miles and mostly flat.

Russian Ridge Hike

On Saturday, April 18th Wate Bakker led a 6-8 mile hike along Russian Ridge, known as a premier flower spot.Total elevation gain was 1000-1500 ft.

Coyote Creek Park Hike

Gita and Rajni Bakhda led a Rambler Hike on Wednesday, April 15th to Cayote creek park around the lake. Afterwards the group went for an Indian Buffet lunch to introduce the Ramblers to Indian cuisine at an excellent Indian restaurant on Cottle.

Rambler Hike to Frog Lake

On Wednesday, April 8th the rambler hike was to Frog Lake at Henry Coe. The total hike was 4.5 miles.

Henry Coe Park Hike

Nancy Rumple led the long hikers on a 9 mile hike on Saturday, April 11th. We climbed up 1200 feet to the Monument to Henry Coe and then continued making a loop via Hobbs Road, Frog Lake Trail, and Flat Frog Trail plus a few other moderate trails back to the Headquarters.The beautiful wild flowers were in abundance making for a memorable hike.

Greg Brown’s Murals in Downtown Palto Alto

On Wednesday, April 1st Bonnie Preston led a rambler hike to Palo Alto to see 10 of Greg Brown’s Murals in downtown Palo Alto. These humorous murals are painted on the walls or ceilings of buildings. Greg grew up in Palo Alto and studied drawing, painting and printmaking in London. He painted the life size picture of a spy in a trench coat which was so realistic that it scared a city official in 1975. The city then commissioned many other works of art which delighted residents.

Trail Maintenance Day-2015

The Hiking Club – Thank You To All

A BIG thank you to all those who volunteered and worked on the trails on Saturday March 28th. Although everyone was rewarded for their great work with a delicious lunch provided by Trish Smith and her crew,( thank you Trish, Wendy, Amy, Laura, Debbie and Brad) everyone seemed to have a great time even thought they worked hard. And to make the day more festive, The Bakker family celebrated Wate Bakker’s birthday with two huge birthday cakes together with a chorus or two of the birthday song (Happy Birthday Wate). Kudos to John Trudeau for doing such a fantastic job in planning and arranging all of the work crews. And thanks to our “mule” drivers, Augustine and Jose for helping us. They did such a good job shuttling us up and down and keeping track of everyone. So it’s now official. The trails are free of weeds, debris and now easier to transverse. So if you want to see great scenery, wild flowers and wild animals, take your favorite partner and friend and use the trail facilities. Better still, why not join one of the Wednesday and/or Saturday hikes. You’ll have a great time with a fun group.